BTB #308: STM E-Books Forecast 2012

Across all of book publishing, the journey from print to digital is about much more than form factor. In the professionally-focused STM sector, publishers of scientific, technical and medical texts face are reckoning with seismic shifts in the way their content is commissioned, created, and stored. And as digital sales become integral to their businesses, these publishers face existential challenges for their survival in a post-print world.

The great promise in STM e-books is the capacity to deliver data and other information immediately, and at the point-of-use, according to Outsell market analyst Laura Ricci, co-author with colleague Mark Ware of the firm’s recent report, STM E-Books: 2012 Market Size, Share, and Forecast. “Users in the STM market are working in a lab or at their computers, and so they’re eager to get that content digitally, and it makes sense for them to get that content digitally,” she tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.

“Researchers also being served more by institutions and librarians, and so the content is purchased in larger volumes by a central purchasing body,” Ricci continues. “Some of the largest publishers, such as Springer, such as Elsevier, have made their e-books available on the same digital platforms as their journal content, as well as in bulk purchasing models. That’s what makes sense for these libraries.”

For Outsell, Laura Ricci conducts secondary research, data analysis and company briefings and assessment within Education & Training and STM publishing verticals. Prior to joining Outsell last year, Laura worked throughout the higher education publishing industry, in New Delhi, India, and she earned a Master’s in International Publishing from the UK’s Oxford Brookes University.